No rain = Sawdust!

After what felt like a solid month of rain (including sideways) it finally decided to clear up for a day and I was able to get out into the Garage-Shop and do some stuff. Sadly no pics at this time but will try to get some.First I want to say that this was mostly a “what am I gonna make, HOW am I gonna make it and what wood can I use to make it with” day. Lots of planning and experimentation for future projects.

First thing I did was to work on knobs. Now I know that there are TONS of ways to make wooden knobs, videos on making them and such but, sometimes, you have to DO it to learn it. So I made a pattern and tried making knobs. I tried 5/8” plywood, 5/8” particle board and 3/4” poplar. In doing this I learned that my jigsaw table is good at cross-cutting but kinda anemic at ripping solid wood. Hrm. Ultimately I decided to use the 5/8” particle board because I have LOTS of it and no plans to do anything else with it. Plus it’s fairly easy to get cheap or free. Still to do: Finalize the knob template.

Second thing I worked on was starting my first mallet. Attention purists: I did not have hardwood and was not able to get any, so I’m using what I have. So there.I got a piece of roughly 12” square wood (likely pine but was from a remnant of a old shelf so not really positive) and cut it into 3” strips. Then I took 1 of the 3” strips, cut it into 3”x4” pieces, bored out the center with a hole-saw and cut a angle on one edge with the miter saw. I arbitrarily chose a 5 degree angle. I then glued one of the holed-out pieces flush with the edge and end of one other strips, Making sure the beveled side was towards the inside. Then I searched my scrap bin and found a relatively decent chunk of 2×4 and cut it down to 1 1/2” square by about 3’ long. Making sure the straightest part of the grain was the right direction, I cut one end down to 3/4” thick by 1 1/2”. This will become the handle. Still to do: come up with some lead shot or BB’s for weight, trim the handle wedge to proper size, assemble, glue and possibly dowel the whole thing together, then attach leather to the faces.

3rd thing I did was to start making a grooving / slotting template for my router. I Had a piece of 1/4” plywood left over from a sign I helped my neighbor make so I decided to use this. I cut 2 1 1/2” wide strips off of one end and glued one strip on 1” in from the edge of the plywood. Then I removed the base-plate from the router and spaced out the 2nd strip as precisely as I could so that the base JUST slid between the two strips. Then I cut a piece of 5/8” particleboard and glued and screwed it to one end on the opposite side as the strips for a edge / end butt-against. Still to do: Cut the slot with the router and mark the center on the particleboard.

Finally, A much-needed cleanup was done. Putting tools away where they belong, sweep and vacuum. Not lot’s of fun, but necessary.